That Moment of Realization
by babygal
Summary: Sirius Black is definitely a ladies' man and proud of it. His friends may be settling down but that's just not for him. Can one special girl change his ways? Or will his charming behaviour get in the way of his happiness?
1. My Big Mouth

Disclaimer: I'm not JKR! I don't own any of the characters from the Harry Potter series. Only characters you don't recognize as well as the plot are mine.

* * *

The room was silent except for the faint sound of slow, steady breathing. As dawn approached, curious rays of sunlight peaked in through the drawn blinds, shining upon a bed strewn with tangled sheets that had surely seen more than just sleep the night before.  
  
As the light grew brighter, the woman occupying one half of the bed began to stir, finally opening her eyes with a smile upon her face as she reminisced about her wild night, and his amazing body. Those strong arms, rock-solid abs... she could go on but why bother when she could have more of it right then. Slowly rolling over, she reached over to his side of the bed and felt...  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Sirius?"

* * *

"Jesus mate, another one night stand?" Exclaimed James Potter to his best friend, brother some might say, Sirius Black. "Just tell me this one actually _knew_ it was just a fling."  
  
"Well," Sirius began with a thoughtful look upon his handsome face. "I could tell you that Prongs, but I'm afraid I'd be stretching the truth just a tad."  
  
James glanced at Sirius with a half-amused and half-disappointed look. It was one he directed at Sirius all too often because while James wasn't the type of guy to hop from bed to bed, (anymore that is) what Sirius did was his own business and he wasn't about to try and run his best friend's life. Instead, he just listened to Sirius's crazy stories over and over, and assumed he would decide to settle down one day.  
  
As the pair walked through the halls of the Ministry of Magic in the direction of their offices in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Sirius continued to give James the lowdown on what had occurred the night before. They had each completed their Auror training just 6 months prior, but had already made quite a name for themselves. If they had their way, that name would be _The Dream Team_ but so far they were the only two who had really gone for that.  
  
"James, don't give me that look. Maybe the other times that look was acceptable, but _not _today. You should have seen this girl, she was gorgeous! Long blonde hair, tanned skin. All over I might add," he said with a smirk. "And let's not forget that ass."  
  
"BLACK!" a loud, gruff voice roared and the men immediately came to the conclusion that their superior Alastor aka Mad-Eye Moody was walking directly behind them.  
  
Sirius grimaced and James held in his laughter as they turned to face Moody, already knowing that this would not go over well.

* * *

"Can you believe that man?!" Sirius shouted angrily as he glanced upon the mountainous stack of parchment sitting before him on his desk. "Who does he think he is making me work overtime? How is it any of his business what I talk about to one of my mates? I have a date tonight at 9 and I'm barely going to have any time to get ready!"  
  
"Padfoot," James interjected before Sirius got too far into his rant. "I mean, he is an older, more traditional kind of guy. I don't think he really appreciated you talking about some woman's sweet arse in the office halls. Considering that his entire lecture was about showing some respect for women, I'm guessing that's the lesson he's trying to teach you with this here.... enormous pile of work." James concluded, finally giving in to the laughter he had been holding back.  
  
"Shut it Potter," said Sirius as he picked up the first of many pieces of paperwork he'd be filling out over the next few hours. "Just because you've gone soft and ended your man-whoring days early, doesn't mean that I should have to. I have loads of respect for women, I just also happen to appreciate certain... assets that some of them may possess".  
  
He glanced up at James with a knowing look. "Don't act like you can't relate. I remember the days when James Potter was a legend, competing with me in 4th year for most number of snogs in a week. Then by 5th year it was shags. You were up there mate! Now it's just one girl, day in and day out. That has to get boring eventually. Granted, Lily is one foxy lady. I'll give you that much credit."  
  
James laughed and then smacked Sirius upside of the head as a sly smile appeared across his face at the thought of Lily. "That's my girlfriend you're picturing!" He said with a chuckle. "That foxy body is for my eyes, and mind only."  
  
"Fine, you get Lily all to yourself because you two are just sickeningly attached to one another, but I could get any other girl at any other time and you know it. Who could resist this?" said Sirius, glancing down at himself with a cocky grin.  
  
"Black," came a new voice. James and Sirius glanced around to find a strikingly beautiful woman standing in the doorway. Her long dark hair streaked with red fell in waves midway down her back and her sparkling hazel eyes gazed at Sirius as she walked confidently towards his desk.  
  
Sirius just stared at her, unable to speak for just a moment before regaining his composure and flashing his signature grin. "Melissa. How can I be of service to you?"  
  
But Melissa seemed completely oblivious to his charm as she casually tossed a piece of parchment on top of the pile. "Crouch wants this signed. He needs it back first thing tomorrow morning at 9:00 sharp." She said quickly before turning around and giving James an acknowledging nod as she headed back out into the hall.  
  
Sirius simply stared on after her with a dazed look on his face. He finally snapped out of it as James's laughter reached his ears.  
  
"Any girl at any time eh mate? I mean, who could resist you right?" He said in between chuckles. "I'll tell you who could... Melissa Harwood."  
  
Sirius glared back at him before responding, "So me and Melissa have never really gotten to know each other. I've just never really tried with her, but it could definitely happen. I'm a sexy guy James, there's no denying it. And she's one totally smokin' girl. People like us are just naturally attracted. I just need to turn up the charm and she'll be all over me in no time."  
  
"BLACK!" came that dreaded voice once again from the doorway. "And to think that I was coming by to let you go home. Absolutely no respect!" he exclaimed with disgust as he tossed another pile of forms onto Sirius's desk and limped back out into the hall.  
  
James burst into hysterics as Sirius slammed his head down onto his desk. "Just get out of here mate. Go meet up with Lils or something. At least one of us might get some action tonight."

* * *

Author's Note: Welll there ya go! Chapter 1! Hope ya liked it. Please review to let me know if you did and constructive critisism is always welcome. No flames though please, those really do no good. So yeah, review! If anyone reads/likes the story so far I'll try to update soon.  



	2. Where There's A Will

Okay, here's chapter 2. Sorry I took a bit long updating, but I've just been a bit busy. This one's a bit longer, hope you guys like it!

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"After thorough investigation, we conclude that Mrs. Agnes Applebee's allegations of a bewitched teapot plotting to kill her are indeed, false." Sirius mumbled aloud as he skimmed and signed the final piece of parchment in the once foot-high pile that Moody had stuck him with 5 hours ago.After placing that last page in his outbox, he stretched and sighed bitterly. 'Of all the kinds of paperwork I could have been filling out, he gives me all the _false_ allegations. Why bother even recording them?!' he thought angrily to himself.  
  
In truth he usually didn't mind doing this particular job because he found it amusing to read about crackpots like Mrs. Applebee who believed random household items were conspiring to murder them. Tonight however, was another story because his extra work had taken much longer than expected and he had been forced hours ago to call his date for the evening and cancel.  
  
And canceling a date with a beautiful woman was something Sirius Black just did not do. He claimed it was against his principles. When asked what those principles were, he would reply, "To get laid whenever possible." He was only half joking.  
  
Sirius was just reaching for his coat when he noticed one more sheet off to the side on his desk. "Oh bloody hell, just when I think I'm all done there has to be _one more._ Typical," he said to himself before reaching for it hastily.  
  
But upon glancing at the parchment, he realized that this was not some crazy story about evil zebras or anything of the like. It was the form that Melissa had brought over earlier, which he had completely forgotten to sign. But even though he had forgotten about the paper, he definitely had not forgotten about Melissa. The truth is he had been thinking about her all night. Who could forget a girl like that? The way she just strolled in with such confidence. He loved that in a woman and with all the ditzy girls he was usually with who just fell at his feet, he didn't see this often.  
  
Melissa was different. She was a challenge. One he'd definitely be willing to try.  
  
Sirius quickly scrawled his signature at the bottom of the page, gathered his things together and walked out into the hall in the direction of Crouch's mailbox to drop it off. He walked rather quickly, since he did not particularly like being alone in the Ministry. Not that he was scared of anything of course, he just didn't feel all that comfortable there when the majority of the lights were out and everyone had gone home.  
  
He turned the corner and noticed that one office midway down the hall still had its lights on. Apparently he wasn't the only one there working overtime. As he got closer, he realized the office which was not in darkness belonged to none other than Melissa Harwood. Immediately the wheels in Sirius's head began to turn.  
  
"Me... her... all alone. This could be _very_ interesting,' he said to himself quietly as a sly grin spread across his face.  
Sirius gathered up his composure and ran a hand through his hair to give it that natural, rugged look that the ladies loved before walking up to Melissa's door and peaking in as he knocked twice.  
  
"Melissa, what are you doing here all by yourself at this late hour? I thought I was the only one still around." He said as he strolled in and up to her desk.  
  
Melissa clearly also assumed that she was the only one on the floor as she seemed rather startled when Sirius came in. "Oh, hi Black." She said somewhat awkwardly. "Yeah, I thought I was the only one here."  
  
"It's too bad we didn't figure this out earlier; we could've kept each other company while we worked. I could stick around anyways and keep you company until you finish. I'm in no rush anyways. Maybe we could grab a drink afterwards." Sirius said smoothly. He always found it helped to offer to do something nice for a woman before asking her out. It gave them extra incentive to say yes. Not that they usually needed any more incentive after merely taking a look at him.  
  
Melissa didn't look up from her book when he said this and he wondered for a moment if she had even heard him. Was she just really into that book or was she contemplating her response? He soon had his answer when she finally glanced up and replied, "Well actually, I prefer to work alone. Away from distractions." At this, the looked back down at her book and continued reading as if he was not standing in front of her.  
  
Most guys would be discouraged by her fairly obvious hint that she wanted him to leave, but not Sirius. He still had tons of room to go with this.  
  
"_Healing In The Face of Danger_, eh?" he remarked as he read the title of the book she had her nose buried in. Melissa was a trained healer and had once worked at St. Mungos but was recruited to go along on Auror missions for the Ministry and be available to fix them up quickly before they returned to the battlefield.  
  
"Wow Black, you can read. I'm impressed," she replied with more than a hint of attitude.  
  
Sirius chuckled. "Okay, okay you want to be alone. I get it. I won't bother you. Goodnight." He said with a charming smile as he turned towards the door.  
  
"I don't mean to be rude Black," began Melissa, finally looking up. "It's just that I'm taking a course next week and I really need to get the reading done. Plus I have all my regular work to do. It's just really hard to fit it all in."  
  
Sirius was torn for a moment. He had already told her he'd leave her be, but she had just given him an opening for more small talk. After silently debating with himself for half a second, he decided he'd go with the small talk. Just for a minute, then he'd leave.  
  
"Oh, I'm really sorry for keeping you. But this course you mentioned, does that mean we're gonna be missing you around here next week?" Sirius asked, as if her time away was going to cause him great grief.  
  
'_I can see right through this guy,'_ She thought to herself. Being a rather attractive woman, Melissa was quite used to men trying different strategies to win her affections and the "we barely know each other but I'm going to act like we're the best of friends" routine had been done time and time again.  
  
"Yes, I'll be at St. Mungos taking some extra training. It's a week away from work but it'll increase my salary so it's a really good opportunity. Which is why I really need some privacy..." Melissa knew she sounded rude. She knew he might think she was a bitch, but who was he anyways? They had never even had a conversation about anything other than work and now he was disturbing her when she needed to concentrate.  
  
Sirius wasn't one to be shot down easily, but her tone told him she really wanted him to leave, and he wasn't going to push it.  
  
"Okay, sure. I'll be on my way. Good luck with the studying," Sirius finished with a wink, always managing to squeeze in one last charming gesture. He walked out the door and closed it behind him before wiping the grin off of his face.  
  
"This is gonna be harder than I thought."

"Oh come on guys, get a room!" laughed Remus Lupin from his seat at a booth in the back of the Three Broomsticks. He picked up a french fry and threw it in the direction of James and his red-headed beauty Lily Evans, who were all over each other across the table from him.  
  
The couple broke apart and James flashed Remus a winning smile as he ran a hand threw his uncontrollable black hair, making it quite a bit messier. "Sorry Moony, but I can't help it if the lady wants me."  
  
Lily smacked James playfully. "I'm sorry Remus. I suppose we just got a bit carried away." Lily and Remus were very close. Not in a way which would get him killed by James if the relationship was exposed of course. The two of them were just friends. Remus was probably Lily's best male friend, aside from James and she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable.  
  
"Oh don't apologize Lily," Remus replied. "I was just joking with you two. Honestly, after so many years of you trying to tear each others hair out it's actually not that bad to see you... well... close." He finished with a smirk.  
  
Lily and James had spent their first 5 years at Hogwarts at each other's throats and it wasn't until 6th year (when James finally deflated his ego) that they became friends and then a couple.  
  
"Yeah yeah Lupin, we all remember those days. No need to bring them up because things are different now. Right honey?" he gave her a sweet peck on the mouth and smiled at her.  
  
Before getting together with Lily, James had been much the same as Sirius. A different girl every night, and proud of it. Now however, he was a changed man. Just looking at Lily, even smelling her perfume made him feel all warm and tingly. (Though he wasn't exactly upfront about those feelings with his friends) Everyday he fell even more in love with her and though they had only been together 6 months in the real world outside of school, he was realizing more and more that he couldn't see himself with out her. It was actually something he had been thinking about quite a bit.....  
  
"Of course that's right," said Lily as she tried to smooth out James' hair, the tone of her voice making it evident that she was touched by his simple gesture.  
  
Lily turned back to Remus and the two began a conversation, but James didn't look away from Lily for quite a while.  
  
Suddenly the door flew open and the three of them, along with the majority of patrons in the restaurant, turned to see a very frustrated looking Sirius trudging in the door. Spotting his friends he made his way to the back of the restaurant, plopped down beside Remus and began ranting. The thought crossed his mind that they may have been in the middle of a conversation, but they could get back to that later. He needed some attention right now, as he was feeling rather deprived of it.  
  
After explaining his run-in with Melissa, the group sat in silence for a few seconds.  
  
"Well?" Sirius said impatiently, "Isn't that ridiculous? She barely even gave me the time of day!"  
  
"Hmm," began Remus, stroking his chin and resembling Dumbledore in some odd way. "Let me get this straight. You went into Melissa's office uninvited, with no real reason. You interrupted her while she was trying to work, and then you pulled the "we barely know each other but I'm going to act like we're the best of friends" routine?"  
  
Sirius pondered this for a moment before responding, "Yes, yes that's about right."  
  
"And you're surprised that she didn't snog you right there?" Asked James through a chuckle, "Honestly Padfoot, you have some things to learn."  
  
Sirius clearly did not like the advice he was getting and looked extremely put-out and grumpy. That is, until Lily spoke up.  
  
"So Melissa Harwood's going to be in that course? That's a relief, none of my friends at work are taking it and I was starting to think I'd be a bit of a loner for a week. I mean, me and Melissa don't know each other _that_ well but I was partners with her a few times in 7th year Arithmancy. Imagine them making a class that consisted of all Slytherins, plus one Ravenclaw and one Gryffindor. If it wasn't for Melissa I would have died. I guess you take those chances with elective courses though...  
  
Lily opened her mouth to talk some more about her elective classes at Hogwarts when Sirius interrupted her, the expression on his face similar to a troublemaker in Zonkos. In other words, the three guys sitting around her in Zonkos.  
  
"Lily, you're a healer!" he exclaimed excitedly, "You work at St. Mungos!"  
  
"Really? I'm a healer at St. Mungos? Thanks for letting me know, I really wasn't aware of that," Lily responded sarcastically.  
  
"Oh hush," he continued. "You can put in a good word for me! Oh pleaseeee Lily please. I'll be your best friend! I don't need these guys, it could be you and me. Or, I could provide you with prolonged, incomparable pleasure." He said, laughing and dodging the spoon James had hurled at him.  
  
Lily sighed. She hated being put in this sort of situation but at the same time she didn't want to let Sirius down completely. "Well, fine I'll see what I can do. But I'm not going to sound like your PR representative or something. I'll just see how I can fit you into conversation and I'll try to avoid mentioning your... less appealing qualities." She finished, as she watched Sirius shoveling Remus's food into his mouth.  
  
"Fanks Liwy, I wiwwy apweciate dat." Sirius said, his mouth completely full. Inside, he was ecstatic. Finally he had an "in" with Melissa. Things just might go his way afterall.  
  
Lily shook her head as she viewed the man across table, already wondering if this was a good idea.  
  
"Don't mention it. Anything for a friend..."

* * *

Author's Note: Annddd that's that. Hope you guys liked it. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed for chapter 1 too! You guys are so nice, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Anyways, I know this chapter didn't take the story too much further but I still needed to introduce Remus and Lily and show some more initial interaction between Sirius and Melissa. Don't worry though, I do have a plot set out for this story and it's going to develop quite a bit so I hope you all keep reading! And keep those reviews coming! I love hearing from you all :D 


	3. Reversing A First Impression

And here we have chapter 3! Sorry I've been taking so long in between chapters but my senior year has been a busy one so far. I'm hoping I'll have one totally free day sometime soon where I can just spend the evening writing and get a few chapters ahead. Unfortunately I don't see that happening, but you never know! Haha.

-hanabanana616: I hate those fics too! It's too unrealistic for two people who hate each other to suddenly fall in love out of the blue. So that's why I'm trying to make this story a bit more believable. I'm glad you like it!

-Padfootz-luvr: I took your advice about changing my settings. I didn't even know it was set to signed reviews only, so thanks for that! And thanks for reviewing!

Also to dream-or-cry, Angel Skykitten, siriuszsecretlover, and Canadian Coco Chick (yay Canada!): I'm so glad you guys are enjoying the story. Thanks so much for giving me your feedback!

Well now that I've written practically a novel in only my intro to the chapter, I'll get back to my story! Hehe. Oh and just so you know, when the words are in italics it's what the person is thinking. I know that's probably pretty clear but I just wanted to say it just in case there was any confusion. So here it is. Enjoy!

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"Amazing shoulder massages, abs of steel, top-notch Quidditch player, sensitive to a woman's needs, enjoys long walks on the beach. Oh for Merlin's sake." Lily said to herself as she walked through the front entrance of St. Mungos. 

In her hand was a list Sirius had compiled and brought to the café where he had met her and James for breakfast that morning. The list consisted of what he thought to be 50 of his 'most redeeming qualities' and Lily was instructed to work each and every one of them into conversation with Melissa over the next week. _'And I thought James was full of himself.'_ She mused as she crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the garbage can. That list would give Melissa a good laugh more than anything else.

Lily made her way towards the lift and was about to get on when she heard her name being called from behind her. Turning around, she saw Melissa hurrying towards her and waving her arms. "Hold the lift!" she yelled, half out of breath.

Lily got in and held the door open for her as she finally made her way there. "In a rush are we?" Lily chuckled. It was clear that Melissa was running way behind schedule that morning. She was holding all kinds of loose papers in her hands which she was trying to get organized, and she looked as if she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Oh you have no idea," Melissa replied. "I was up _so_ late last night finishing up the readings, I slept in 45 minutes late this morning and then I was so out of it that I flooed to the Ministry by accident. It's basically just been a disastrous morning." She said, beginning to giggle herself.

"So anyways," she continued, "now that that's out of the way, how have you been Lils? I haven't seen you at all since we left Hogwarts except for that one dinner at the Ministry and we didn't even have much time to talk then."

"Well," Lily began as they reached their floor and stepped out of the lift, joining the crowd of people waiting for the classroom doors to open, "I've been doing really well actually. Work is great, I'm really enjoying it. James and I are doing great, and everything else has been really good too. I can't complain at all. How about you?"

"Oh I've been alright. I can't be as lucky as you and have a great boyfriend but I love my job and I'm pretty content."

Melissa stopped talking as the door opened. Standing in the entrance way was a tall, buff-looking man with blonde hair, tanned skin and piercing blue eyes. "Hello everyone, I'm Alex. Please come on in and take a seat, and we'll get started."

Melissa looked as if she was about to start drooling. "Wow," she said as they moved with the crowd into the classroom. "If he's the teacher, I'm going to _love_ this class."

* * *

"So you and Potter are still together eh? That's awesome Lily. I mean, it still kind of blows my mind after all this time that you two actually put your pride aside and accepted that you had feelings for one another. I thought it would never happen." Melissa said as she and Lily each took a seat in the cafeteria and began their lunches. 

"Are you saying that you knew me and James fancied each other even before we did?" Lily laughed.

"Are you kidding? Of course! It was the most obvious thing in the world and I wasn't even in Gryffindor. If a Ravenclaw can see the sparks between two people in a totally different house, then I'd say it's pretty obvious," she replied, before taking a big bite of her turkey club sandwich.

"Yes, I suppose it was pretty obvious. It just kills me that everyone seemed to know before we did. It's too bad we didn't figure it out sooner because he's just the greatest guy. I can't even put into words how much I love him." Lily said, blushing.

Melissa grinned and placed her hand on Lily's shoulder. "Aw, honey that's too cute. I'm so glad you and him are happy. So do you think he's, you know, _the one?_"

Lily didn't even take a second to think before responding. "You know Mel, I really do. I mean, we haven't really discussed the future. I know we've been together for a couple years now but only 6 months of that has been in the real world outside of school. I don't want to bring up our future and scare him or anything."

"Honestly Lily, I bet he's having the same thoughts you are. You know you two belong together. Everyone knows that. You guys were already like a little married couple in seventh year! I bet you two even met for breakfast this morning before you got here."

"Oh my gosh, are we that predictable?" Lily said as she thought back to her breakfast that morning with James and Sirius. '_Wait a minute. What a perfect opportunity_'. "Yeah we did meet for breakfast this morning. Me, James and Sirius went to this lovely little café a few blocks away."

"Black tagged along did he?" Melissa replied in a less friendly tone. "Can't even let a happy couple be alone together."

'_Uh oh. This doesn't look good.' _"Oh, no no no," Lily corrected her. "It wasn't like that at all. We meet for breakfast every Monday. It was something I started so we'd be able to wake up and get going. You know how Mondays are. Remus usually joins us as well but he had an early meeting and Peter comes along when he can, but he needs to get all the way over to Diagon Alley so he has trouble fitting it in. The poor guy can hardly get up early enough to make it to work on time, let alone making time for breakfast with us. But yes, as I was saying, Sirius isn't intruding at all."

"Ohh ok. Sorry, I guess I sort of made my usual assumptions about Black." Melissa replied. "So it's the Marauders and Lily most Mondays is it? I know Remus works at the Ministry because I see him around the building now and then, but what's Peter been up to since graduation? I haven't seen him at all."

"Well, Peter moves around between jobs quite a bit. Gets work wherever he can. You know how it is with him, not the best grades. He's been at Flourish and Blotts for about a month and a half now though and he seems pretty happy there." said Lily as she finished her chicken Caesar salad.

"Well that's good. I'm glad he's found something. I never really knew him all that well. Didn't really know any of those guys too well, but I always felt sorry for him when we had classes together. He just couldn't catch on. Poor guy."

"Yeah, I know," Lily agreed. "He really is a good guy. He's been a good friend. But do you mind if I go back to another _Marauder_ for a second? You seem to really dislike Sirius. What's that all about if you guys didn't really know each other?"

"Oh. Black." Melissa began, "Well it's not like I hate him or anything. I'm sure he's a nice guy if you're friends with him, and I know he has a decent sense of humour and I won't even try to deny that he's probably one of the best looking guys I've ever seen. But it's not all about looks. I just don't think he knows how to treat women and that's the biggest turn-off for me."

"Well I know he's pretty popular with the girls and I suppose his numbers aren't that low but I really don't think he'd ever purposely hurt someone." Lily responded. When she had first been given the task to make Sirius sound good to this woman she hasn't really wanted it, but now she found herself very eager to defend his honour. Sirius was one of her best friends. She loved him like a brother and she really didn't want Melissa to think so poorly of him.

Melissa pondered this for a minute before speaking again. "Maybe he doesn't hurt people _purposely_ but he certainly doesn't seem to care when it does happen. I guess my view of him goes back to 6th year. He dated Gabby briefly. You remember Gabrielle Valetta right? Me and her were really close in school."

Lily nodded and Melissa continued.

"Well Gabby was just smitten with Black. She totally fell for the charm and the lines and that grin of his. To make a long story short, I'll just say that she was pretty much in love with him when she found out he'd been shagging two skanky little 4th year girls from Hufflepuff the whole time. Apparently he didn't know that she thought they had an actual relationship going and he claimed he was sorry but he sure didn't act too sorry. It was like after he realized she actually cared about him he didn't want to get tied down and he totally ignored her after that. She was crushed and I spent so many nights comforting her. Since then I've just seen Black as some womanizer who doesn't care who he hurts."

Of all the things Melissa could have said, Lily was not expecting this. Sirius had hurt one of her best friends and she really wasn't sure she'd be able to change her opinion of him now. She was actually starting to change her mind about wanting to. Lily knew what Sirius was like in school. She knew James was the same before they got together. (Though she tried not to think about that.) But hearing about a specific person who was heartbroken by his behaviour really upset her. She decided she'd have to smack him for it the next time she saw him.

"Oh no," Lily replied after letting the story sink in. "I never knew about Gabby. She was such a sweet girl too. You know Mel, it really makes me angry to hear things like that that Sirius did, but that was a long time ago. He was still an immature 16 year old then. He's honestly a really great guy and he's very protective of those he cares about and like you said the sense of humor and good looks are an added bonus."

Melissa's expression had softened a bit, but she still looked skeptical. "So you're telling me that Black's now a one-woman man? No more playing the field?"

_'Great. Talk about being stuck in a corner.'_ Lily thought to herself. She was telling the truth about him being a good guy and taking care of the people close to him, but saying he didn't 'play the field' anymore would be an outright lie.

"You know, I really think Sirius's problem is that he hasn't found anyone he's ready to commit to yet. But when he finds that girl and shows her that caring, protective, sensitive side of himself that a lot of people don't get to see, she's going to be one of the luckiest women around. I can guarantee that."

_'There we go. I told the truth, no lies, and I made him sound pretty damn good._' Thought Lily, feeling satisfied with the response she had mustered up. The truth was it wasn't that hard to come up with. She really did believe that and she knew Sirius would make a great boyfriend, even husband one day.

"Wow, you seem pretty fond of Sirius. You sure you picked the right guy?" Melissa said through a chuckle.

Lily laughed as well. "Oh I'm sure. James is my guy, but his best friend has become one of my best friends as well. But anyways, enough about the boys. Have you been to that awesome new boutique just outside the Leaky Cauldron in Muggle London?"

The two girls finished their lunch hour discussing clothes, makeup and work before heading back up to their class. Lily had figured that too much "Sirius talk" would be a bit suspicious. She didn't know yet what she'd tell him that night since she wasn't totally sure if she had swayed Melissa's opinion of him much with her little speech about his future lucky girlfriend.

Though Lily _did_ notice that Melissa went from "Black" to "Sirius" pretty quickly. Maybe she did have a bit of an impact.

_'Only time will tell.'

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_

Author's Note: Kind of a boring chapter. I didn't particularly like it because James and Sirius weren't in it and they're my comic relief. However, I did need to fit it in there to establish what Melissa's problem with Sirius is and get her and Lily talking again. I also needed to briefly introduce Alex. Why is Alex important you ask? Well you'll just have to keep on reading to find out! :D Anyways, I hope this chapter was alright and I promise the next one will be less serious and have more Sirius. (Heh) So please keep on reviewing and checking back for chapter 4 which I hope to have up this week!


	4. Baby Steps

Ahh here we are with chapter 4. I know I hoped to get it out last week but obviously that didn't happen. Just been busy. But here it is now! Hope you guys like it!

**hannahbanana**: Yes, life is indeed much funnier with the Marauders present. Don't worry, they're all around in this chapter!

**Canadian Coco Chick**: Haha, yeah I love Sirius but not everyone can love him all the time! He hasn't always been such a good boy.

**Elladora**: Haha well I've got quite a few things to respond to you about. I love the long reviews! About their religious affiliation, I guess that was just my own vocabulary shining through. Though when reading the books I've always wondered if they are religious. JKR seems to avoid the subject, but they do have Easter holidays and Sirius is Harry's Godfather… both of which are Christian things. But either way, I'll try to stick with "Merlin".

The same goes with the British lingo. I'm not British so I'm trying to keep out my own Canadian vocabulary but it's a tad difficult. I'll be sure to skim over it and make sure to British-ize the dialogue haha. And don't worry, Remus and Peter will make plenty of appearances in my story. I love Lupin as well and I also hate fics that conveniently leave out Peter. Hello… if they weren't close friends with him they never would've make him secret keeper and there'd be no Harry Potter story! So he'll be around :D Oh and I've barely been on the computer (hence the reason I'm only posting this now) but I'll be sure to check out your fics!

**RedRaspberry**: I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! Thanks so much for reviewing!

And thanks a lot to the rest of you as well. Now enough of all this. Let's get on to the story!

* * *

"Give it up Wormtail old friend! I'm the reigning champion and I am absolutely undefeatable!" Sirius exclaimed as he beat Peter at their 4th straight game of Exploding Snap. "And I'm not even sober! You really need to work on your game Pete." He continued, laughing. 

"Undefeatable my arse", Remus interjected. "It's rather curious that you haven't challenged _me_ yet." He said smugly. "I wonder why _that_ is."

"Hmm," Sirius responded thoughtfully. "And what do _you _suppose the reason for that is Lupin? Because really, I just wouldn't want to embarrass you." He said, while trying to keep a straight face.

The boys (yes, when together they'd still be considered boys) often started mock confrontations with one another when drunk. Or sober. It was a little game they'd played ever since their very first day at Hogwarts when Sirius had told off Remus for sitting in 'his' spot on the common room sofa. Poor little Remus, being rather shy at the time, had been so afraid he'd lost his new friend that he almost cried, but when James and Sirius burst out laughing he'd quickly caught on and it had continued ever since.

"Ha!" Remus barked in a very Sirius-like way. "Embarrass me? That's a joke Black. Let's see what you've got you mangy mutt!

"Bring it on you.. you.. moon-howling werewolf!"

Peter's stifled laughter at Sirius's incredibly lame comeback was just too much for the two tipsy men to take and their fake glares were only held for about 5 seconds before all three of them just about died laughing.

"Moon-howling werewolf?!" Remus exclaimed through his laughter. That doesn't even make sense you prat!" Of course, a comment like this from anyone other than Sirius, Peter, James or Lily, no matter how stupid it sounded, would be extremely insulting. But years of friendship and the loyalty they had shown Remus after discovering his condition made it completely okay. None of them would ever use the word 'werewolf' as a derogatory term and Remus knew that perfectly well.

"Well Sirius, I believe Remus has challenged you to a game. Let's see how 'undefeatable' you really are," said Peter when their laughter finally died down.

"Yes I suppose he has," replied Sirius. "We might as well get a few more games in before Prongs gets back. What do you think could be keeping him?"

The three of them were currently sitting around James's living room in his London flat and were staying the night. Lily had called it a "cute little sleepover" but they much preferred the term _man's night._

"He probably went and made the Muggles think he was crazy by asking for Firewhiskey or something," chuckled Peter.

"Heh, Pete's probably right. You'd think that after 6 months of living in Muggle London he'd figure everything out, especially with Lily helping. But he still brings up how marvelous it was discovering television every now and then when he strikes up conversations with the neighbors. I reckon they think he's a bit mad, said Remus, laughing along with Peter.

At that moment, as if by cue, the door flew open and in walked James carrying a bag which was surely filled with liquor. "Ahh, here we go boys. I come bearing gifts!" he announced as he shut the door and made his way into the living room.

"Finally! What took you so damn long? Bloody hell, it got to the point where we were sick of the dirty movie channel and started playing children's games!" Sirius exclaimed as if the idea of getting sick of the dirty movie channel was preposterous.

"Sorry mate. I went and asked the guy for Firewhiskey again and spent 40 minutes trying to backtrack which really isn't all that easy when you're half drunk."

Remus glanced over at Sirius and Peter with an 'I-told-you-so' look upon his face, which was enough to have them cracking up once again and leave James looking dumbfounded.

"What's so funny?"

* * *

The four friends spent another few hours drinking, laughing and acting like they were back in their dormitory at Hogwarts before they finally began to sober up around 3am. 

"So", Sirius began, "did I tell you guys that Lily rang me after work and said that it went pretty well with Melissa? She also scolded me for being a prat in school, but it sounded good for the most part."

"Yeah, you only mentioned it about 100 times Padfoot," Peter replied with a smirk on his face.

"Hmph." Sirius grumbled. "Well _sorry _if I'm a bit happy about it."

"What is it exactly that you like so much about her?" Remus inquired, though he was fairly sure of the answer he'd get.

"Well, there's her legs. And her hips, and chest and hair and eyes… I like her personality _too_!" he emphasized after seeing the look on Remus's face. "She happens to be a very confident, independent woman, which I find very attractive."

"Speaking of women," said James before Remus could respond. "I wanted to let you guys know that I'm planning a surprise party for Lily's 19th birthday coming up on the 21st of January. I want it to be big; really special, so I'm going to need some help from you guys with all of the arrangements. Is that alright?"

Sirius yawned tiredly before responding, "Yeah sure mate. Anything for Lilikins, but that's a whole month away. We still have Christmas to deal with. Why are you bringing it up now?"

"_Because_, Padfoot. James obviously wants it to be an awesome party for Lils that can't be thrown together in two days." Remus said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Anything I can do James, just let me know," he said, turning away from Sirius to face James.

"Yeah me too James," chimed in Peter. Oh I bet I could get you a discount on a caterer. I have contacts with most of the eateries in town!" he said excitedly.

James was about to make a joking comment towards Peter but was interrupted by an irritated Sirius. "What's that attitude for Moony? I was just asking a simple question and you make it seem like I don't think Lily's worth having a big party for. I'll have you know Lily's my best friend after you three and I think she's worth the biggest party in the world. So don't even go there." He said with frustration.

Remus sighed. He really hadn't meant to upset Sirius and he knew that if it wasn't for the after-effects of the alcohol, they wouldn't be having this mini-argument.

"I'm sorry Sirius. I know you care about Lils. We all do. I think we're just tired and the hangovers seem to be setting in early. I really didn't mean to sound rude."

"Yeah, don't worry about it Remus. I'm sorry I snapped at you too. I think you're right about the hangovers." He said with a snigger. "Oh bloody hell, would you look at us. Four young guys trying to have a man's night and we're falling asleep before sunrise and apologizing for snapping at each other over our female best friend and best mate's girlfriend."

All four of them laughed at their failure to have a very manly night before conjuring squishy mattresses across the living room floor for them to sleep on.

"Just so there's no hard feelings Padfoot," Remus said through a yawn before shutting his eyes. "I've come up with your first job for the party which I think you'll like."

"Oh yeah?" said Sirius who had already shut his eyes and was halfway to dreamland. "What's that Moony?"

"Invite Melissa."

"Well Moony, I do believe that is a rather brilliant idea" replied Sirius, which was the last thing heard before four distinct snores filled the room.

* * *

Morning came extraordinarily quickly, as it always seems to do when one is beyond tired. James awoke to the feeling of something hitting the back of his head repeatedly, which continued, to his confusion, for a good two minutes before he realized it was a pillow and the one holding onto it was Sirius. 

"Prongs! For the love of Merlin, wake the hell up!" he yelled, exasperated.

"Go away," James groaned as he half-heartedly tried to hit Sirius's leg.

"James, mate, it's 7:40! We have work at 8:30 remember? Obviously we're the only idiots who would get drunk on a work night but Remus and Peter are already up and gone! And I want to meet up with Lily near St. Mungos before heading over to the Ministry. So come on. Come with me."

"Meet Lily? Why?" James asked, rolling over. "Why do you need to see Lily _now_?

"_Because_ Prongs." He began, as if the answer was completely obvious and James was a total plonker for not realizing it. "I can meet up with Lily, we can grab a quick bite and then I can walk her over to work… where I can see _Melissa_. I'm supposed to invite her to the party remember?!

"Oh. Right. Well you go on without me. I'll send Moody an owl later and tell him I'm sick. And don't you say a word otherwise."

"Yeah, yeah fine. Bye mate," Sirius replied before quickly calling Lily to make arrangements and apparating.

* * *

"So Sirius, why exactly did you want to meet up for breakfast again? It's usually only Mondays. Not that I mind of course, I'm just curious." 

"Does there have to be a reason for me to want to see my favourite girl?" Sirius said, putting on the charm.

Of course, Lily knew him too well for his smooth words to have any effect so she just stared back at him, eyebrows raised, until he finally had to laugh.

"Oh Lils, you just know me so well don't you," he said as he poked her. "Not that it's not a joy having breakfast with you. I just figured after we're done I could walk you over to work and talk to Melissa about…..er.. well whatever comes up." He finished, taking a big gulp of his tea.

_'Great, first time I see her and I almost spoil the surprise.'_

"Oh, um, okay. That should be fine." Lily replied. Sirius seemed to be hiding something, but she didn't know what it could possibly be so she decided to put it out of her mind for the time being.

"Well look at the time," she said as she glanced at her watch. We should be going."

The two of them put on their coats as it was rather nippy outside, Sirius took care of the bill and they made their way out into the cold and down the street to Purge and Dowse, Ltd, the department store which Muggles knew to be closed for refurbishment, and the secret front entrance of St. Mungos.

Upon entering, they noticed through the crowd Melissa, looking very pretty (Sirius noted) in a pair of tight, strechy black dress pants and white blouse. She seemed to be in quite a hurry towards the lifts, but Lily decided to be nice to Sirius and get a hold of her attention.

"Mel! Hey Mel! Wait up a second!" she yelled as they caught up to her. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? We've still got another 10 minutes or so."

"Oh I know. I just wanted to grab a tea and maybe a muffin or something. I didn't have breakfast and I'm famished." She replied before the doors opened and the three of them entered. "Oh, hi Si-er..Black. What are you doing here?"

"Well, um, I just thought I'd walk Lily here over to work this morning and when you mentioned being famished I realized just how hungry I am myself. So I think I'll head up to the tearoom as well and pick something up before heading over to the Ministry."

Lily could barely keep her giggles in at the thought of the huge plate Sirius had just eaten at the diner down the street, but she stayed quiet after Sirius gave her a look. Just then, the doors opened to the second floor and Lily stepped off.

"I forgot one of my notebooks over in my office, so I'm just going to go grab that. I'll see you in class Melissa, and thanks so much for walking me over Sirius," she said with a smirk as the doors closed behind her.

The two of them stood in silence for the rest of the elevator ride. He wanted desperately to strike up a conversation but being under pressure, he forgot the main reason he had for speaking with her. _'Merlin, I never have trouble talking to women. What's happening to me?'_

The doors opened to the fifth floor where the tearoom was located and the pair stepped out and into the short line.

"So, you and Lily seem pretty close. I was joking with her yesterday that she might have chosen the wrong Marauder." Melissa said, glancing at Sirius.

He had to laugh at this. "Lily? And Me? Oh no no no Melissa. That would never happen. First of all, her and James are practically attached at the hips. Metaphorically _and_ literally, if you catch my drift." He said with a wink, which made her laugh. "Plus," he continued, "everyone knows they're perfect for each other. No one would ever get in the way of that. And either way, the thought of Lily and I is just laughable. She's a great girl, don't get me wrong. I love her like a sister but that's all it is. Remus and Peter too. We've all just known her so long and so well that she's one of our best friends."

'Oh, well that sounds really nice," Melissa replied. _'Wow, he actually sounds like a pretty nice guy…'_ she thought to herself.

Finally it hit Sirius and he couldn't believe he was just remembering the party now.

"Hey, speaking of Lily, I'm glad we got a moment alone because I wanted to mention that we're throwing her a surprise party for her birthday next month. Well, James is throwing it but we're helping. And um, I'm sort of in charge of invitations. We all agreed that Lils would love it if you made it.

"Aw, well that was really sweet of you guys to think of me. Her birthday is on the… 21st right? Is that going to be the day of the party as well?" He nodded and she continued. "Well sure, it sounds great. I'll definitely be –"

"NEXT! What would you like ma'am?" yelled the grumpy looking cafeteria woman, interrupting her.

"Oh, er, could I get a medium sized tea and a blueberry- wait no, a raspberry muffin."

The woman turned to fix Melissa's order, giving her and Sirius a chance to finish their conversation.

"So, you were saying you'll come?" he asked while trying to hide his excitement.

"Yeah, for sure. I'll be there." She replied as she took her tea and muffin from the woman's outstretched hands.

At that moment, the middle-aged man next in line, who looked very impatient indeed, quickly moved up to the counter, practically shoving Melissa out of the way in the process. It was as if the world was moving in slow motion as the tea flew from her hand in splashes, towards her pure white blouse.

Sirius, always the rescuer, quickly took his hand out of the pocket in which it was resting, along with his wand. "Immobulus!" he yelled, stopping the liquid in mid-air and sparing Melissa from the hot shower.

The whole room had stopped and everyone was watching them as Sirius turned from Melissa to the man who had pushed her. "Excuse me sir. I think you owe her an apology.  
First off, you don't push a lady. And secondly, she was holding a steaming hot tea and could've been burned. Merlin, have some consideration!"

The man clearly hadn't really meant to cause any trouble especially as he was much shorter and skinnier than Sirius and had no intention of starting something with him. He turned to Melissa and said, "Sorry ma'am. Didn't mean any harm. I'll be sure to watch what I'm doing next time," before he turned and left quickly without placing an order.

Melissa stepped back from the tea frozen in air, before letting it fall. "Scourify." She said quietly, cleaning it up so that the woman working wouldn't have to, before turning to Sirius with a smile on her face.

"Thanks Black. The last thing I need this morning is to have hot tea splashed all over me. That was really nice of you to stand up for me too."

"It was nothing. But hey, if you wanted to repay me I have an idea of how you could do that." He said with a smile.

_'Oh great. Here it comes. He seems like a nice guy for 5 minutes and now he's going to come up with some line he finds charming to try and get in my pants.'_ She thought to herself, angry that she had actually almost changed her opinion of him.

"Oh yeah? And what's that Black?" she asked dully, expecting the worst.

"Well ever since 5th year I've just been getting Lily funny gifts. You know, gag gifts like how me and the guys give each other. She seems to like them because she gets a kick out of them, but she always gives all of us really nice stuff. Peter and Remus are usually pretty good at choosing gifts out for her, but for once I'd, I don't know, I'd like to get her a really awesome gift. And well, I figure the best way to get a good present for a girl is to go shopping with a girl, right? I'm really not trying anything funny," he said as he noticed her suspicious look. "I just figured you'd be a good person to help, especially since you know her. If you don't want to that's totally okay though."

Melissa thought about it for a second. _'He seems honest enough. It's just shopping, how bad could that be?'_

"Um, sure Black. That should be alright, and I can get my gift for her as well. I probably won't see you the rest of this week so we'll just plan now to meet at the Leaky Cauldron this Saturday at, let's say noon. Is that okay with you?"

Sirius's stomach was doing back flips. _'Calm down, it's not a date. She didn't agree to go out with you, only to shop for a gift. Hmm but it is a start.'_ He thought to himself excitedly before replying, as calmly as he could, "Yeah sure. That works for me. Well anyways, I really need to work or Moody will have my head. I guess I'll see you Saturday then."

"I guess you will. See you then Black."

"See you," he said, unable to hold back his signature grin before dissaparating before her eyes.

_'Me, going shopping with Black._ _He better not make me regret this.'_ She thought to herself as if the mere thought of the two of them shopping together was ridiculous. However she couldn't hold back the tiniest of smirks when she pictured the grin he flashed her before he disapparated.

_'Shows it to all the girls, but I have to give him some credit. It **is** an effective tool. Gosh, why is it that all the jerks are so damn good looking?'

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Author's Note: And there you have it, chapter 4! It's quite a bit longer than the other chapters, is that okay? Let me know if you guys want them to be shorter, or even longer. I was going to end it with the guys going to sleep and have chapter 5 be Sirius and Melissa at St. Mungos and shopping, but I just felt like adding a bit more in. So next chapter will be them searching for presents.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed as well as anyone who read but didn't review! I love to hear from you guys though so keep the reviews coming :D


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